Blog: What About Desalination?

From the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Blog, in a post by
Nancy Vogel, California Department of Water Resources:

“Despite high costs and other barriers to adoption, the appeal
of desalination never vanishes in California. It sharpens
during drought or when debates over the Delta intensify, but so
far, it has not proven the silver bullet to end California’s
water woes. So where does desalination fit in?

“Today, desalination creates an estimated 84,000 acre-feet of
potable water a year in the state, mostly through treatment of
brackish groundwater, which is not so salty and cheaper to
treat than sea water. Most of these plants are operated by
local water districts on the South Coast. They serve as one of
many supply water sources that protect local communities during
droughts.

“A few small plants in California treat pure ocean water, but
that picture is shifting. The San Diego County Water Authority
intends to get up to 56,000 acre-feet a year — roughly seven
percent of the water it needs — from a desalination plant now
under construction next to a coastal power plant in Carlsbad.”